


Sisterly Reunion

by Circuit



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Gen, Makoto Niijima Week
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-17
Updated: 2017-09-17
Packaged: 2018-12-30 22:08:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 983
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12118215
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Circuit/pseuds/Circuit
Summary: Sae returns home from her interrogation of the leader of the Phantom Thieves, needing to talk with her sister.Written for Day 2 of Tumblr's Makoto Niijima Week: Family/Sae. (Spoilers up to November 21st).





	Sisterly Reunion

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted to capture the unseen make-up scene between the Niijima sisters, but I feel it came off rushed. Hopefully I still managed to do these two justice.

Makoto was doing the dishes, having just had dinner alone again. She wasn’t sure how often these days she wasn’t able to see her sister; it had gotten depressing keeping count. Still, that would hopefully change soon, even if the circumstances were less than ideal for it. That said, she hadn’t seen or heard from her sister since handing her the calling card.

She put the dishes away, leaning against the wall and letting out a sigh, when she heard the apartment door open and then quickly shut.

She immediately straightened up. _Calm down. If it was the police, they would have knocked or left the door open or announced themselves. Just… don’t panic._ She cautiously approached the hall to their foyer. “Sis?”

“Makoto?” Sae’s voice replied. She sounded slightly worried.

“I’m in the kitchen,” Makoto said, stepping back and waiting for Sae to come in.

Sae soon walked in, giving Makoto an odd look. “You’re here.”

“Welcome home,” Makoto said carefully. “Is everything okay?”

“Depends on your definition of okay,” Sae said. “Care to sit with me? I need to talk with you.”

“Okay…” Makoto said. “Do you want dinner? I just ate, but I could make you something.”

“I don’t have an appetite,” Sae said.

Makoto sat across from her, watching her sister awkwardly avoiding eye contact. “Sis? Something’s wrong.” Makoto felt her heart rate increasing. _Did the plan fail? Was that news report right about Akira’s death?_ “D-did the Phantom Thieves do something to you…?”

“No,” Sae said. “But you’d already know that.”

Makoto said nothing, looking down at the table.

“I’m sorry, Makoto,” Sae said.

“Are you arresting me?” Makoto asked quietly.

“What?” Sae asked in surprise. “No, of course not, why would you-” Sae cut herself off, noticing Makoto shaking slightly. She reached over and gently took her sister’s hand.

Makoto looked up, her eyes slightly tearing up.

“Sorry,” Sae said again. “I suppose with how I acted when coming home, coupled with my attitude earlier, and the news…” She took her hand back. “I’m not arresting you. And Kurusu, despite what the news is saying, isn’t dead.”

“He’s not?” Makoto wiped her eyes a little, her shaking subsiding. “Sis, does that mean…?”

“I got a message from an… Alibaba?” Sae managed a small smile. “I’ll have you know, sneaking Kurusu out and back to Leblanc took a lot of effort.”

“I’m… grateful that you did it,” Makoto said. “I was so nervous that he wouldn’t get through to you.”

“So, was him getting caught a plan of yours, then?” Sae asked.

“Not exactly,” Makoto said. “More that the plan formed because we knew he’d be caught. We knew Akechi was going to sell us out so he could assassinate him in police custody, and letting him get caught so we could fake his death was…” She trailed off, shaking her head. “The rest of the team and I can all explain it better in person tomorrow. Right now, I just… want to relax for a moment. Let myself feel relieved.” She looked down in thought for a slight moment, but quickly returned her attention to Sae. “Thank you, Sis.”

Sae nodded, before looking away again. “Since we let this tangent distract us a little, allow me to repeat my initial apology.”

“What for?”

“What for?” Sae repeated in shock. “I said terrible things to you. I made you think I didn’t value you or your insight. I wasn’t even attentive enough to your life to even notice you had gotten involved with the Phantom Thieves. All I cared about was myself.”

“I don’t blame you for any of that,” Makoto said. She gave a sad smile. “You were under so much pressure to take care of me, to keep your job…”

“That’s no excuse,” said Sae. “You nearly died confronting Kaneshiro, right? And the last thing I would have said to you would have been what drove you to that.”

“I’m still alive, though,” Makoto said. “And we’re here to talk now.”

“Then let me apologize for how I treated you these last few years!”

“I’m not stopping you from saying it,” said Makoto. “But I really don’t need to hear it. You showed signs of remorse and caring for me even through all that distortion. I never doubted that you cared for me, Sis. And I never stopped believing in you.”

Sae returned her gaze to Makoto.

“I knew you had a Palace since I first joined the Phantom Thieves,” Makoto said. “But I kept quiet. Targeting you would have been selfish and airing a private family issue. I knew that one day you’d remember your justice without us needing to steal your heart. And if I ended up being wrong, if things did get worse… I’d do things on my own, or with Akira if I absolutely needed help.” She frowned, looking down. “That’s not how things ended up playing out, but…”

“You had that much faith in me?” Sae asked.

“It was key to the plan, after all,” Makoto said, looking up and managing to smile again. “I’m so glad I was right. And I’m sorry for not explaining it fully yet, but Futaba and the others had their roles that they’d be better suited to discuss.”

“It’s fine,” Sae said, giving a small smile in return. “I can wait. For now, how about I finally treat you like my sister again?”

“If you’d like,” Makoto said, her smile growing bigger. “Shall we watch a movie?”

“As long as it’s not a yakuza film,” Sae’s smile grew to match her sister’s.

“Oh, fine,” Makoto pretended to pout. “But you had better still treat me to that hot spring trip, okay?”

Sae let out a small laugh. “Gladly.”

Makoto laughed as well. Hearing her sister laugh again so genuinely after so long, she couldn’t help but laugh with her. _I’m really glad you’re home, Sis._


End file.
